Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 30 August 1821
- When Anita and Giuseppe met in Brazil, she was about 15, and he was about 29 years old. Anita connected with other revolutionaries, although she was a young girl at the time.
On this day in 1821, Anita Garibaldi was born. Her husband was the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.
It is interesting to note that she was born as Ana Maria de Jesus Ribeiro in Brazil. Of course, her native language was Portuguese. Brazil was a Portuguese colony when Anita was born.
She was born in the city of Laguna, which is located about halfway between Rio de Janeiro and today’s southernmost part of Brazil.
Giuseppe Garibaldi met Ana Maria de Jesus (i.e. Anita, which is the diminutive of the female name Anna) in Southern Brazil, while he was fighting there on the side of the revolutionaries.
They wanted to realize the separation of the southern part of Brazil from the rest of the country. When they met in Brazil, she was about 15, and he was about 29 years old. Anita joined her husband and other revolutionaries even though she was a young girl at the time.
Anita and Giuseppe Garibaldi were married in 1842. After the failure of the revolution in Southern Brazil they moved to Uruguay, where Giuseppe also participated in the war.
Anita gave birth to their four children. They moved to Italy in 1848. Anita died of malaria near Ravenna in 1849, and was pregnant at the time. She died aged 27, allegedly in Garibaldi’s arms.
